Further MathematicsCode 9231
Probability generating functions
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- understand the idea behind a probability generating function (PGF), and form the PGF of a given distribution and work with it
- apply the expressions for a discrete random variable's mean and variance written using its PGF, and use those expressions to work out the mean and the variance for a stated probability distribution
- use the result that, for independent random variables, the PGF of their sum is found by multiplying their separate PGFs together